Frank N. Popp, master watch repairman, dies at 90

When Frank N. Popp returned to civilian life after World War II, he went back to his family's home on the Northwest Side and began looking for a job.

"All he knew is that he was good with his hands and had an eye for detail," said his son, Fred.

The son of a barber, Mr. Popp eventually enrolled at the Elgin Watchmakers College. The school was affiliated with the Elgin National Watch Co., where at the time nearly half the country's watches were manufactured.

He graduated in 1946 and subsequently worked as a watch repair technician in Oak Park before signing on as a partner with two other jewelers and opening a shop in the Portage Park neighborhood in 1955.

The shop, at the intersection of Irving Park Road and Cicero and Milwaukee avenues, quickly developed a reputation for high-level workmanship and customer service.

"If there was an ounce of a chance that he could fix a watch, he'd find it," his son said. "Customers would bring in watches with these teeny-tiny parts that were no longer available, and he'd create his own."

Mr. Popp handled repairs for brands including Seiko, Omega, Rolex and Patek Philippe. He had contract repair service agreements with department stores including Marshall Field's, Sears and Polk Bros.

"As a kid, I'd ride my bike downtown and make deliveries for him," his son recalled. "If you bought your watch at Field's during the'50s or '60s, and if for some reason it needed a repair, chances are my dad was the one who fixed it."

"Frank was an expert in watch repair, and especially when it came to antique watches passed down over generations," said Donna Schierer-Calderon, whose late father, Bob Schierer, and his brother, the late Elmer Schierer, owned and operated the shop with Mr. Popp. "He understood that these weren't just old watches, but cherished family keepsakes, and he treated them as if they were his own."

The son of Hungarian immigrants, Mr. Popp was a graduate of Schurz High School on the Northwest Side. During World War II, he enlisted in the Army and served three years as a sergeant with the 793rd Military Police Battalion in Europe.

After the war, he worked for a while on an assembly line at Zenith Electronics Corp. in Chicago, where he met his future wife of 63 years, Mary, a fellow employee.

"He fell in love with my mother but soon after grew tired of putting four screws into the back of a radio," his son said. "He wanted more out of life."

A longtime Portage Park resident, Mr. Popp moved with his wife to Grayslake in 2001. He retired about 15 years ago, selling his jewelry business to Schierer-Calderon and her husband, Lorenzo Calderon, who now run the shop, one of the oldest, on-premise watch repair services in the city.

"We learned a lot more from Frank than just how to repair watches," Schierer-Calderon said. "He taught us about patience, respect for others and the good feeling you get from a hard day's work."

Mr. Popp's wife died in 2011.

Mr. Popp also is survived by a daughter, Mary Ellyn Mason, and two grandchildren.